Recent content by Mike Camera

I’ve spent a lot of time researching recipes for homebrewing, and everybody claims to have the best recipe that you need to try for yourself. I find this optimism refreshing since online reviews and comments are usually negative, but I also think homebrewers tend to be too optimistic about their...

It took me a couple of years of homebrewing before I started worrying about my fermentation temperatures. Up until then, whatever the temperature my basement was at, was what my beer would be at. However, I eventually wanted to control my fermentation temperatures to improve the quality of my...

When I first started brewing I used a kit to guide me through the brewing process. The instructions seemed very simple which was nice since I was still learning about the equipment and how the brewing process worked. I steeped a small sock of grains for 20 minutes, poured in the liquid malt...

Back in 2012 there were only 5 craft breweries operating in Columbus, OH. This wasn’t many for the 15th largest U.S. city during a time that craft beer was taking off. Nonetheless, a homebrewer living in Chicago and a fellow Ohio State University alum came together to try and add to Columbus’...

I think it is way more frustrating to not know what ruined your batch of beer, than actually losing the beer itself. It always makes your next batch feels like a gamble. Am I going to waste $40 and 8 hours of work again? How do I avoid making the same mistake when I don’t know what went wrong in...

So you’ve been brewing beer for a few years and love sharing your brews with your family, friends, neighbors, and plumber? You figure, why not share my hard work with the rest of the world, and make money while working my dream job? Many others have had the same idea. A lot of the craft...

Wine aficionados have always been passionate about the vintage of their bottles. They often say “it was a good year,” or talk about how many years the bottle has been aged. Some people are compulsive enough to only store bottles on their sides, in a temperature and humidity controlled fridge...

Unless you were fortunate enough to have an experienced brewer bring you into the world of home brewing, odds are your first batch was on a very basic setup. For me it was a partial extract batch brewed in a borrowed stockpot, on the gas stove-top of my old college house. A simple yet effective...